Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
As you predicted in your editorial of August 15, 2015, the CAO is leaving the municipality. Your opinion that a municipality the size of Meaford does not need a CAO is correct. The CAO salary level usually raises the salary levels of senior management positions.
Over the past couple of years, two senior positions (Director of Roads and Director of Recreation) have been deleted and the fire chief retired to be replaced by the deputy. The deputy position was not filled. Unlike departments that have been organized under one director, more departments have been added that produce no value to the taxpayer. Job titles have been changed to elevate some positions. One manager position has only the manager and one staff. Other departments have suffered from the organizational changes.
We have experienced more organizational changes in the past two years than most municipalities would in a decade. And now, senior staff are asking for more staff that should have been filled when the position became vacant. The purchasing officer is one. Notice I didn’t say manager.
In my opinion, council would be well advised to hire a professional human resources consultant to review all the staff changes over the last two years. So far, the changes have been the recommendations of the now departing CAO. We need a second opinion.
Doug Robinson, Leith
